Hughes as Pat, the love interest of Eileen Grimshaw, in Coronation Street

Desperate to get away, he took off for London in a bid to make it as a stand-up comedian. The decision changed his life and in 1992, he started filming Sean’s Show. It featured the well-loved catchphrase “buh bye” and a skit where God would leave messages on his answerphone.

He appeared on BBC2’s Never Mind The Buzzcocks between 1996 and 2002, alongside host Mark Lamaar and rival captain Phill Jupitus. But Sean decided to quit when the show got “boring”.

When he returned to the Edinburgh Festival in 2012, he admitted he’d had a serious drink problem.